I've been a film history buff almost as long as I've been a Civil War buff. I've also grown increasingly interested in Civil War historiography thanks to guest blogger Johnny Whitewater and also thanks to Kevin Levin's work on the Crater during the Petersburg Campaign. Fiction As Fact is an endlessly fascinating look at how the truth of Grierson's Raid was changed, sometimes subtly and other times not so subtly, over the course of Dee Brown's historical non-fiction book Grierson's Raid, Harold Sinclair's historical novel The Horse Soldiers, and of course John Ford's classic John Wayne cavalry tale The Horse Soldiers.

Author Neil York first examines the raid as it exists on historical record. Colonel Benjamin Grierson took his under strength cavalry brigade, consisting of the 6th and 7th Illinois, the 2nd Iowa, and a six gun battery of two pounders of the 1st Illinois Artillery, on a raid through the heart of Confederate-held Mississippi in April 1863. Grierson's raid was a spectacular success. Over a time frame of just over two weeks, he took his men from La Grange, Tennessee to Union-held Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Through a lot of skill and even dumb luck, he was able to tie up a large number of Confederate pursuers just as Grant was starting the final offensive of his Vicksburg Campaign by crossing east over the Mississippi and driving inland. The Union cavalry lost very few men and destroyed numerous stores along the way as an added bonus.

Next, Dee Brown's non-fiction book on the raid, called simply Grierson's Raid, is discussed. Brown is most famous for his western epic Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. I own a copy handed down to me by my Grandfather. York shows that although the book professes to be an accurate account of the raid, Brown did take some literary license. In some places, he uses diary accounts from a raid participant, but uses entries from similar actions before and after the raid. In another instance, he creates conversations that did not necessarily happen. Still, York praises Brown's book as the most accurate, and still the best, non-fiction book currently available on the raid, over 50 years later.

Working on a similar timetable as Brown but creating an entirely different animal was John Sinclair. His historical novel The Horse Soldiers was released several years after Brown's book, but the author apparently didn't use Brown's book as a source. Instead, he used many of the same sources Brown had used, including the Official Records. However, unlike Brown, Sinclair applied far more creative license. He changed the protagonist from Benjamin Grierson to John Marlowe. In addition, he changed the names of several regiments and eliminated the artillery entirely. Sinclair didn't change everything. He kept many of the famous historical figures, such as Grant and Sooy Smith intact. In addition, he kept the correct names of Grierson's Confederate pursuers. It was extremely interesting to follow along as York catalogued the ways in which Sinclair changed the record. For the most part, however, he stayed true to the story.

This was not so in John Ford's film version, released in 1959, also called The Horse Soldiers. Grierson was again John Marlowe, though by this point he had become a railroad engineer rather than the historical music teacher Grierson was in real life. As always seems to be the case in Hollywood, a love interest was added. John Wayne, in the role of Grierson/Marlowe, meets a southern belle that he is forced to take along on the trip when she threatens to reveal his whereabouts and eventual destination of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Other details are changed as well. Nathan Bedford Forrest, rather than Wirt Adams and others, becomes the pursuer. Other details such as Andersonville POW Camp are added, even though Andersonville had not yet been built at the time of the raid. These things were added to streamline and popularize the story for the non-history buffs which would make up a large part of the audience. York argues persuasively that movies can define an event for the generation that goes to see it. He quotes James Cameron, director of Titanic, in making his point.

The last chapters are dedicated to looking over how Brown, Sinclair, Ford, and others involved in the books and the movie affected how the material was presented. York shows how people involved in the projects, especially John Ford, changed the way the story was told. He continues by emphasizing that all three had the common themes of duty and honor at their core, though they differed in the details. York also points out that the various forms of telling the tale ultimately allow people to become interested in something they otherwise never would have found. As an example, I know for a fact that Albert Castel cites Gone With The Wind as a seminal event in his life, and mentions it in the foreword of his excellent book Decision In The West: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864. In the end, the author concludes that the truth can be elusive. Sometimes someone finds a new piece of evidence that allows us to interpret an event in a new way. Thus a commonly held "truth" many years old can become an inaccuracy in a moment.

I read York's book in one day. I literally could not put it down. As someone who has watched many John Wayne films repeatedly, including The Horse Soldiers, I found the topic to my liking. I would recommend this particular historiographical study to anyone interested in the film, the books, or Civil War historiography in general. It really is a fascinating look back at the subtle changes that can creep into the public consciousness, similar to many long-cherished myths about the Civil War.

I actually read the novel long before I saw the movie when I was a kid. The Horse Soldiers movie was one of the things that got me interested in the Civil War in the first place. Took me a long time, but I finally tracked down a first edition hardback copy of the novel, and it remains one of my fave books in the library here.

As for Gone with The Wind, I fell asleep watching that movie after the war was over. Frankly, I could not give a damn about the rest of the movie.

I can still remember my girls friends and I sitting in a row at the Arden Theatre in Lynwood California watching the Horse Soldiers. We were in 9th grade. Of course none of us knew anything about the Civil War except Grant and Lee and Lincoln. We loved the movie. We loved John Wayne.

Two years ago I sat with others in a class at the high school here in Huntington Beach. A class though the adult school taught on the Civil War though the use mainly of films. This time I think I laughed though half the movie. It was such a 50's movie . Uniforms never get dirty , Hair never gets messed up and my favorite was the soldiers riding singing with a full orchestra behind them .

I have learn recently my great great grandfather was one of those Confederates chasing Grierson. He took part in some of the skirmishes before he left the service .

The scenery along the way is wondeful It was fun to see who the supporting actors were . The John Ford usuals.

As to Gone with the Wind I recently saw it on a big screen with a whole bunch of Civil War buffs and others at an old Art Deco theatre in San Pedro. I think you are right the best part of the movie is the war period. After the war it isn't as interesting . But seeing it on a big screen was exciting

As to Gone with the Wind I recently saw it on a big screen with a whole bunch of Civil War buffs and others at an old Art Deco theatre in San Pedro. I think you are right the best part of the movie is the war period. After the war it isn't as interesting . But seeing it on a big screen was exciting

Susan,

I saw it on the big screen as well, when it was first reissued back in the late 1970s. Old time theater as well, with one huge screen. Often wonder just how many folks have actually read Mitchell's book. Know I have not.

As I read the posts I am almost starting to believe there should be a new category.

Whether it should be 'Mistakes in Books I have read, Films seen' or 'History Gazunped', I am not sure.

But the discussion on the Horse Soldiers, one of my favourite films, brought it to mind. Starting from the Confederate Army Battle Flag, which is shown as a rectangle (it should have been a square). What else is amiss.